Chapter 103: Holy Crap, Digimon!

The wind was clear and the sun warm; the Curtain-Fall was sailing steadily along the Grand Line.

Siano had just finished his morning cultivation; leaning against the ship's rail, he held a steaming cup of coffee, admiring the seascape and savoring this rare moment of tranquility.

Someone crept up, reached a small hand out from under his armpit, and made a grab for the coffee cup.

But the instant those fingers touched the cup's side, Siano slapped the hand away without mercy—*smack*.

"Ow, that hurts!"

"What are you doing, trying to steal my unsweetened bitter coffee?" Siano said irritably. "Uncle Zeff brewed a whole pot first thing this morning; if you want some, go pour it yourself."

"The galley's too far..." Nami wriggled out from his embrace, looking up at him with pitiful eyes.

"You'll die of laziness one day."

Siano was long immune to such acts and couldn't be bothered to indulge her.

He suddenly noticed the newspaper clutched in Nami's hand and raised an eyebrow. "Ran into a News Coo this early today? Still no report on Crocodile?"

"I flipped through it from start to finish; didn't see a thing."

Nami puffed out her cheeks, rolled the newspaper into a tube, and tapped it against the railing—*thwack, thwack*. "It's been a whole week already! Is the World Economic News Service that inefficient?"

Seriously, what was that Morgans up to!

Big Brother might not be in a hurry, but she was itching with impatience!

More than anyone, she wanted to see Big Brother's bounty skyrocket again, sending shockwaves through the entire Grand Line.

Yet something this huge hadn't even caused a single ripple?

"A whole week, huh."

Siano took a slow sip of his black coffee, letting the bitterness spread across his tongue. "In that case, this has nothing to do with Morgans' efficiency; clearly, someone upstairs is deliberately suppressing the news."

"He's dead; can they really keep it under wraps?"

Nami pursed her lips.

"For a while, it's no problem."

Siano mused aloud, "It seems Marine Headquarters wants to rush and save some face before the news becomes impossible to suppress."

Since Crocodile's conspiracy hadn't been exposed, in the Marines' eyes he was still a model among the Seven Warlords of the Sea, practically wearing the same underwear as them.

Moreover.

This time, he had died while following Headquarters' orders to arrest Siano; even the blackest-hearted company would count that as an on-duty injury, so naturally he couldn't just have died in vain.

Therefore, the one thing Marine Headquarters most desperately wanted right now was to arrest Siano as soon as possible.

Then they could conveniently announce the Sand Crocodile's death; that would be barely acceptable and wouldn't leave them completely losing face.

"Oh..."

Nami replied listlessly; it was unclear whether she had actually listened.

She slumped entirely against the railing like a piece of seaweed wilted by the sun; even her orange hair seemed to have lost its luster.

Without a new wanted poster, life felt devoid of all joy.

Just thinking that Big Brother's magnificent feat of defeating a Warlord of the Sea remained unknown to everyone made her... aaaaaah! In short, her whole body felt out of sorts; it was so annoying!

"Where's your sister?" Siano asked. "I saw her get up and head to the training room at four in the morning; it's breakfast time now and she still hasn't come out?"

"Not yet." Nami propped her chin on her hand. "She's been training harder every day these past few days, only resting at ten at night; I reckon she'll stay like this until she masters Armament Haki."

Siano said nothing; he could understand Nojiko.

Like himself back in the day, she was fiercely competitive; unlike that shameless, carefree Nami, watching her crewmates master Haki one after another while she alone remained unable to break through was simply unbearable.

Yes.

Thanks to the buff provided by the Falcon Sculpture, the Curtain-Fall Adventurer Troupe had basically achieved the milestone of every member possessing Haki.

Smoker, needless to say, had come aboard with it already.

That guy was one of Zephyr's personally trained prized disciples; he had already mastered two types of Haki before even graduating from the Headquarters Elite Camp.

Among the remaining crew, the first to master Armament Haki was Sister Sister Guyina.

The young swordswoman's talent was the envy of all; on the third day after leaving Twin Cape, she was already able to preliminarily employ the two abilities of Coating and Hardening.

She was currently attempting to master Haki Projection and the advanced technique of integrating it with sword aura; her progress was quite promising.

Next was Zeff; the old man had cultivated it only after leaving Whiskey Shanfeng.

As for Ah Yin...

This fellow's talent was truly baffling; as the years passed, its physical constitution improved automatically as if blown up like a balloon, requiring no cultivation at all.

And Armament Haki seemed to be something it picked up mysteriously just because everyone around it was mastering it sequentially, as if it would lose face if it didn't know how.

"Go call her for breakfast."

Siano sighed and instructed, "If she won't come out, that's fine; just take all three meals to her, and don't forget."

"Got it." Nami nodded; delivering meals was something she knew well—back in the day, she and Nojiko had often delivered food to Big Brother while he grunted and groaned through bitter cultivation atop the mountain.

Once Nami disappeared from view, Siano took another sip of coffee and promptly opened his system panel.

A month had passed since the last market refresh; he had originally planned to browse the market while drinking his coffee, and if Nami hadn't interrupted, he would have already placed his order by now.

—A cobalt-blue light screen unfolded before his eyes.

The first six items held absolutely no interest for Siano; as he swiped past them one by one, his brow furrowed slightly, a faint sense of foreboding arising.

There were only ten items in total; with more than half offering nothing he wanted to buy, was he destined to leave empty-handed again this time?

Fortunately, the moment the seventh item appeared, his furrowed brow instantly smoothed out.

【High-Grade Pet Egg】

【Type: Special Item】

【Price: 4000 Points】

【Description: Upon purchasing the Pet Egg, a High-Grade Pet Whelp will be randomly selected via dice roll; inferior bloodline breeds are excluded, with the minimum evaluation being Grade A; initial Loyalty will be determined based on the Whelp's Grade and the Host's Initial Impression】

【Seller's Note: None, Direct System Sale】

……

Finally, another pet egg?

And a high-tier one at that... Siano found it hard not to be tempted; this was essentially a gacha pool with a guaranteed drop.

Back in Cocoyasi Village, Ah Yin hatching an A+ lineage from an ordinary pet egg had already used up all his luck.

So if this roll turned out to be another ordinary pet egg, the result would most likely be trash, and he would truly have to hesitate before buying.

But with a guarantee of A...

Buy it!

Siano purchased it immediately; the price of four thousand points would have been a fortune back then, but for now, it was acceptable.

Losing a bit due to bad luck was bearable, but if he could hatch another partner and combat force no inferior to Ah Yin, it would be a massive profit either way.

Unable to contain his curiosity, he didn't even add it to his shopping cart but placed the order directly.

He planned to check the remaining items to see if there was anything else he wanted to buy after opening the egg.

With four thousand points spent and the high-tier pet egg received, Siano wasted no time and chose to open it.

【Random selection in progress, please wait】

【You have obtained a new pet: SnowBotamon】

【Hatching in progress...】

The dice vanished without a trace, and a silver-white pet egg materialized, beginning to crack with a *crack-crack* sound from the top.

Within mere seconds.

The top of the eggshell shattered completely, and a fluffy snowball leaped out, blinking its large, jet-black eyes as it curiously surveyed its surroundings.

"Just this?"

Siano stared in astonishment at the little creature in his hand.

Cute?

Of course, it was very cute, round and soft like a mochi.

Even Ah Yin during his Samohog phase paled in comparison regarding cuteness; if it were a girl who owned such a pet, she would surely be unable to put it down.

But how did this thing look like it possessed an A-rank or higher lineage, or worth a fortune of four thousand points?!

This is a scam!

As if in response to his complaint.

Soon, as the pet egg turned into a phantom and dissipated within the system panel, several new lines of prompt text appeared in succession:

【Lineage Rating: S+】

【Initial Loyalty: 80】

【Description: A Digimon baby covered in light, white down, considered a variant of BlackBotamon; named SnowBotamon due to its white body. As long as its master establishes a sufficiently strong bond with it, this naturally gifted individual within its species will evolve into its final form.】

【Evolution Path: SnowBotamon → Nyaromon → Plotmon → Tailmon → Angewomon】

Siano's expression instantly froze.

Wait, what 'mon' was that again?

Angewomon?!!!

"So it's you!"

Siano immediately performed a face-change worthy of Ochumelov, beaming as he lifted the little SnowBotamon and gave it a fierce rub:

"Hey, why didn't you say so earlier? What a cute little baby, welcome to this world!"

(End of Chapter)